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What is Coleslaw
The word “coleslaw” comes from the Dutch word, “koolsla”, “kool” meaning cabbage and “sla” meaning lettuce or salad. The word entered our English language from the Dutch in New York in the late 1700s. Since then it has been a featured side dish at almost every picnic or barbecue in America.
How to Make Coleslaw
We have homemade coleslaw at least once a week, usually with fish, and often with burgers or hot dogs. This coleslaw recipe (our way of preparing it) is ridiculously easy with cabbage, carrot, and onions gently mixed and coated with mayonnaise, a dab of yellow mustard (which by the way is just Dijon mustard with some added turmeric), vinegar, and black pepper.
Coleslaw Recipe Modifications
We also often make this coleslaw recipe without mayonnaise. Sometimes we dress it simply with seasoned rice vinegar. Sometimes we add some shredded green apple to the mix. You can easily adjust these coleslaw ingredients for your taste. (See links at the bottom of the recipe for more coleslaw ideas.)
Are you a coleslaw eater? If so, what’s your favorite way of preparing it?
More Easy Summer Side Dishes
Classic Coleslaw Recipe
If you are making a lot of coleslaw, it's easiest to use a mandoline to slice the cabbage.
However you slice the cabbage, you'll have an easier time of it if you cut the head first in quarters, from the top through the core. Then lay a quarter wedge of cabbage on its side and cut out the core.
Ingredients
- 4 cups thinly sliced cabbage (green or purple, or a mix)
- 1 carrot, grated on the large holes of a box grater
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
- 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 2 teaspoons cider vinegar or wine vinegar
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (more to taste)
Method
1 Assemble the salad: Place the cabbage, carrot, and onions in a large bowl. Add the dressing ingredients and gently mix so that all of the shredded cabbage is coated with the dressing.
2 Serve: Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Serve immediately.
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Elise Bauer is the founder of Simply Recipes. Elise launched Simply Recipes in 2003 as a way to keep track of her family's recipes, and along the way grew it into one of the most popular cooking websites in the world. Elise is dedicated to helping home cooks be successful in the kitchen. Elise is a graduate of Stanford University, and lives in Sacramento, California.
Classic Coleslaw
We call it German coleslaw
My Mom always made this for my Daddy because he didn’t like the other because he didn’t like mayo. Not knowing this had mayo in it lol. My Mom had forgot over the years how she had made it. So I’m so glad I came across your recipe. Can not wait to try it. Thank you so much. Karen
Hi, Karen! Thanks for sharing your story with us. I hope you enjoy this recipe!
Best coleslaw I’ve made. Didn’t have green onion or yellow mustard so used red onion and american mustard. Thanks for the recipe.
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You’re welcome Jean, I’m so glad you liked it!
Almost spot on except I always use some finely diced celery and occasionally some cucumber and bell pepper. I don’t use carrots as they are a mess to shred and they stain. In addition I use a combination of mayo and sour cream and I add just a bit of sugar to offset the vinegar. Last of all my secret ingredient is celery seed.
I’ve spent decades trying to come up with the “ultimate” (for me) coleslaw recipe and darned if I didn’t end up with almost exactly what you have described. The only differences are that I add a little sugar and a little celery seed.
I’m glad to see you omitted any salt. Too many recipes call for this and, of course, you end up with wilted, mushy slaw.
I’m going to try your recipe to see if I like the proportions better than what I created.
BTW, I’d love to see a short video showing what you describe for slicing the slaw. I’ve done it so many different ways, but never feel I am getting the right results. It “eats fine,” but sometimes I have too many small bits, and other times I have strands that are too long. One of the big problems is dealing with the outer, green leaves. I don’t want to throw them away, but when I slice them, especially if I use the mandolin, their shape is quite different from the inner, harder portion.
Hi, John! Thanks for the video suggestion. We will look into that! For those more delicate outer leaves you can always peel them off and hand chop them and either add them to the coleslaw, toss them in with a salad or use them whole in place of lettuce on a sandwich! Good luck with your continued recipe testing! We hope you like ours as much as you like your version!